Impersonating police officers, prosecutors, etc., to scam people out of their money via phone calls.
The perpetrators demanded that the victims provide all their bank account information; they would only stop if the test transfer was successful and the perpetrators were able to withdraw the money. Believing them, the victims went to the bank and transferred all their money to the perpetrators without any hesitation or thought about what they were violating.
The Criminal Investigation Department of Son La Provincial Police is coordinating with the Muong La District Police (Son La province) to investigate and verify cases of fraud involving the use of mobile phone networks to seize property in the area.
Accordingly, the Mường La District Police (Sơn La province) recently received six complaints from citizens in Mường La district alleging that they had been defrauded of their property by individuals impersonating telecommunications, police, and prosecutors.
For example, Mr. Ca VA (born in 1973, residing in Muong Chum commune, Muong La district, Son La province) was defrauded of 200 million VND on August 8th, and Ms. Dinh TT (born in 1974, residing in It Ong town, Muong La district, Son La province) was defrauded of over 64 million VND on August 11th.
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The victims reported the incident to the Muong La District Police Department. |
According to the victims' reports, while at home, they all received calls from someone claiming to be a police officer from the central government. During the conversation, the caller informed the victims that they were involved in a large drug trafficking ring and that the police force required their cooperation in the investigation. The victims were also "threatened" that their accounts would be frozen for verification.
The perpetrators demanded that the victims provide all their bank account information, and only stopped when a test transfer was successful and the perpetrators were able to withdraw the money. Believing them, the victims went to the bank and transferred all their money to the perpetrators without any hesitation or thought about what they were violating. After realizing they had been scammed, many victims reported the incident to the police.
Lieutenant Lo Van Truong, an officer of the Criminal, Economic, and Narcotics Investigation Team of the Muong La District Police, said that the scammers are very sophisticated. To gain the trust of victims, they require victims to install chat applications such as Viber, Line, or Telegram… to make video calls with individuals wearing police uniforms or prosecutor's uniforms, promising that if the victims' money is not related to the scam, it will be transferred back within 20 minutes. After the victims transfer the money, the scammers steal it and cut off contact with the victims.
Furthermore, the methods used by these criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and unpredictable. While previously they would impersonate official phone numbers to call landlines to commit fraud, now they call victims' mobile phones directly.
The perpetrators also gathered a lot of information, reciting it fluently, causing the victims to tremble with fear and believe that only the police, the prosecutor's office, etc., could have such complete information. This further increased the victims' trust.
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The police in Muong La district are actively investigating and verifying information about individuals involved in mobile phone scams. |
Lieutenant Colonel Le Mui, Deputy Head of the Muong La District Police (Son La province), said: "They are very cunning, always asking if the victim is alone or with someone else so they can plan accordingly, and also instructing the victim not to tell anyone else. In addition, the perpetrators also use the tactic of requesting 'confidentiality and cooperation' with the investigating authorities."
They promised that after the case was closed, those who contributed would receive commendations and cash rewards of up to hundreds of millions of VND. Because of this, many victims lowered their guard. Investigating and identifying the fraudsters is also very difficult, as most of the bank accounts and phone numbers are located abroad. However, the Mường La District Police force will do their best to track down these fraudsters.
By the end of October, the Muong La District Police had received complaints from 6 victims totaling over 801 million VND. Recognizing this issue, the Muong La District Police have been coordinating with relevant agencies to intensify propaganda efforts regarding the methods and tactics used by fraudsters to steal property online, aiming to raise public awareness.
